Malaysian Islamic finance groups asked to focus on OIC

Islamic finance players pay more attention to Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member countries before venturing into other continents, says a banker.

"We have to give priority to markets that naturally demand Islamic finance. That first priority should go instantly to OIC countries and secondly to Europe and the US," said CIMB Islamic Bank CEO Badlisyah Abd Ghani.

He commented that probably due to trade linkages most Islamic finance players have been giving too much attention to markets like Europe and US.

"Malaysia can play a significant part in this by being a 'big brother' to OIC countries that have yet to develop indigenous financial system and share with them and create awareness among them," he added.